Stanford University
Contact Information
Education and Research:
Stanford recently embarked on “The Stanford Challenge,” multi-year and multi-disciplinary program aimed at producing new discoveries to help address the major challenges facing our society and the world. The five focus areas are: the environment and sustainability; human health; international peace and security; K-12 education; and the arts.
Stanford supports interdisciplinary environmental research through 42 different departments, centers, institutes and field stations. The Woods Institute for the Environment serves as an umbrella organization, sponsoring interdisciplinary research approaches to global sustainability issues, infusing science into governmental and business policies and practices, and sponsoring environmental leadership programs. For instance, the Woods Institute grants funding through Environmental Venture Projects to research with potentially transformative sustainability results. Since 2004, $4.5 million has been awarded to support 33 interdisciplinary projects that have examined issues such as developing biodegradable synthetic wood products, lowering arsenic contamination of drinking water in Southeast Asia and reintroducing endangered species to former habitats. In addition, the university increased its commitment to solving environmental problems with the January 2009 launch of the $100 million Precourt Institute for Energy. Other research institutes include the Global Climate and Energy Project and the Center for Ocean Solutions.
Students can pursue studies with an environmental focus in departments across all of Stanford’s seven schools. Among the most popular programs are Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Earth System Science and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Environment and Resources. Students can get involved in the university’s sustainability efforts through Sustainable Development Studio, a class that provides a forum for student research and input to contribute to the development and operation of Stanford’s planned Green Dorm.
In addition, Stanford’s 1200 acre Jasper Ridge Biological Reserve gives student and faculty researchers the opportunity to perform significant research into such crucial areas as biodiversity. Currently, a group of Stanford researchers is preparing to reintroduce the vanishing Bay Checkerspot butterfly to the preserve as a way of contributing to the fledgling science of species reintroduction.
Stanford’s most noted environmental researchers include Paul Ehrlich, author of landmark “The Population Bomb”; Gretchen Daily, the 2008 Sophie Prize winner; Harold Mooney, the 2008 winner of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement; Stephen Schneider, who was among the contributors to the Nobel Prize-winning U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and Perry McCarty, the 2007 winner of the Stockholm Water Prize.
Organizations such as the Woods Institute offer opportunities for students to pursue sustainability research and projects. For instance, the Goldman Honors Program brings together upper-division undergraduate students in small-group seminars to analyze environmental problems, with project-focused work tied to policy and ongoing research. The Mel Lane Student Program Grants provide funding to students for group projects that try to solve environmental issues related to the university. The Environmental Undergraduate Research Program offers internship opportunities for undergraduates to work on projects with Stanford faculty and research staff, finding solutions to environmental problems.
Key websites are:
http://environment.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/index.php> http://thestanfordchallenge.stanford.edu/get/layout/tsc/Environment http://sustainable.stanford.edu/student_groups> http://gcep.stanford.edu/ http://dge.stanford.edu/DGE/CIWDGE/CIWDGE.HTML http://camp.stanford.edu/
Campus Operations:
Stanford employed natural gas-fired cogeneration for its energy supply since 1989. An ambitious Energy & Climate Plan was submitted to the President-Provost in May 2009 – one that would achieve an 80% GHG reduction from 2000 levels by 2050 (IPCC) and save an estimated $600 million (20% of energy budget). The proposed plan culminates a year of intensive effort by the Office of Sustainability, other units in Land, Buildings, and Real Estate, expert faculty, and peer reviews by consultants. Most notably, the plan proposes to replace the current cogeneration plant with a ‘regeneration’ plant that will capture free waste heat, along with conversion of the campus steam distribution system to a hot water system. This plan is now under review by campus executive leadership. Existing energy-saving building programs include mandatory metering, large- and small-scale retrofits, HVAC controls, user habits, and new construction. The Energy Retrofit Program has saved over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity since 1993.
Alternative transportation programs have reduced the percentage of employees driving alone to campus from 72% in 2002 to 51% in 2008. The 39 free transit buses with 15 routes take riders to campus locations. In 2008, 49% of employees regularly used alternative transportation to commute, compared with 22% within Santa Clara County. Stanford purposely reduces its transportation footprint by housing 97% of its undergraduates, 60% of its graduate students and 1,400 of its faculty and staff on its bicycle and pedestrian friendly campus. Nearly one-third of Stanford’s 1,021 fleet vehicles are electric.
Green building standards became even more stringent in 2008. New buildings and major renovations must use 30% less energy (equivalent to a LEED Gold standard) and 25% less potable water than similar traditional buildings. For example, the new Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment + Energy Building uses 56 percent less energy and 50 percent less total water than a similar building with traditional fixtures and systems.
Stanford aims to divert 75% of its waste from landfills, working towards a zero-waste goal. Over the last 15 years, the waste diversion rate increased from 30% to 64%.
Stanford won the Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award in 2009. Domestic water consumption has been reduced by 15% since 2001. Stanford replaced standard dishwashers in dining facilities with trough conveyers, cutting water use by 51%. Replacing once-through cooling systems in laboratories with recirculating systems that reuse the cold water has saved about 0.174 million gallons per day.
Stanford Dining won the Acterra Business Environmental Award for Sustainability. About 40 percent of dining produce is organic or regionally grown. Stanford supports 30 farms that grow organic produce. The campus Community Farm and six herb-and-vegetable gardens provide organic produce and teach students about organic farming. In 2008, Stanford composted over 1,300 tons of food waste.
Nearly two-thirds of Stanford’s 8180 acre campus remains in open space. Stanford has restored predominate oak woodlands by designating biotic communities, adopted a vegetation management program to restore habitats, and pursued a program to restore California endangered tiger salamander habitat.
Administration and Finance:
Stanford’s focus on environmental sustainability is reflected in the creation of the Department of Sustainability and Energy Management, the convening of the campus-wide Sustainability Working Group and the designation of 10 Sustainability Working Teams. Sustainability and Energy Management oversees utilities and transportation services and integrates sustainability into daily operations of the university through the Sustainable Stanford (Office of Sustainability) program.
The Sustainability Working Group prepares recommendations to “improve Stanford’s leadership and practice of sustainability.” Membership includes faculty with expertise in environmental science and policy, students, and administrators from relevant offices. Ten Sustainability Working Teams represent elements of sustainability, including Energy and Atmosphere, Water, Green Buildings, Alternative Transportation, Zero Waste, Green Purchasing, Food, Sustainable IT, Communications, and Green Fund.
The Haas Center for Public Service provides service opportunities, integration of service experience with classroom learning, community-based research, public service leadership training, community programs serving children & youth, and advising on national service options. The center supports 20 programs and many student organizations, and works with faculty who offer 75 service-learning courses and community-based research projects. More than 70 student organizations, special projects and school-based programs provide students with opportunities to serve through, for instance, the Community Law Clinic in East Palo Alto, the Business School's Public Management Program, the Medical School’s Office of Community Health, Athletics’ Community Outreach program, and the School of Engineering’s Office of Engineering and Public Service. Other student groups offer outreach programs that provide educational services for underserved youth, language assistance and cultural events.
In 1971, Stanford became one of the first academic institutions to adopt a statement on investment responsibility. The Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing develops Investment Responsibility-related Social Issue Policies and Proxy Voting Guidelines for core social issues, including the environment.
Stanford is also committed to the principles of diversity, access and affordability. It is one of the few institutions offering “need-blind” admissions, and its generous financial aid program meets the calculated need of every admitted domestic student. Students from families making less than $60,000 per year do not contribute to the cost of education; those from families making less than $100,000 do not contribute to tuition.
Stanford has a diverse student body. Seventeen percent of incoming freshman last year were the first in their family to attend college. Seven percent of undergraduates are from countries other than the United States, and nearly half are students of color. Eight community and ethnic centers support the university’s diverse population.
The University also seeks to be a model employer, offering such benefits as on-campus child care, child care grants, support for adoption, wellness programs, tuition reimbursement and domestic partner benefits. The university has a living wage policy that covers contractors operating on campus.
Over 20 sustainability student groups are a strong presence on campus. Students for a Sustainable Stanford organizes events such as Earth Fest and Focus the Nation; the Green Living Council organizes a conservation competition among student residences; the Stanford Green Fund gives small grants for student projects that increase sustainability.
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